Over the Edge
by AerinBrown
Summary: After a fall over the edge of a deadly waterfall, Jenny finds herself in a new world. Despite the best efforts of the tree-house gang, she soon finds herself in the hands of a dangerous man. M/R, plus other.
1. Over the Edge

Disclaimer:  None of the regular tree-house gang belong to me.  I'm not really sure _who they belong to, but they're not mine.  So no suing or anything, okay?_

A/N:  Hello everybody!  This is just a story that's been growing in my mind, and so I figured that I had better put it down on paper.  Um…on the computer.  Anyway, here goes!

* * * *

Humming happily, Jennifer Delilah Walters wandered slowly away from her tour group and headed towards the magnificent, crashing waterfall.  The roar of the white water as it spilled over the cliff was almost deafening, almost managing to drown out the annoying muttering of the people behind her.

Walking as close as she dared, she tried to peer over the edge, but with little success.  Dropping to her knees to minimize the chances that she would slip on the wet grass that framed the river, she scooted closer.

"Jenny, darling!  Do come away from the edge dear; you'll fall."

Jenny sighed.  "Yes, mother," she called, pulling back obediently; her mother was right, anyway.  If she fell…Jenny shuddered.  It was a long way down.  She closed her eyes briefly, imaging what it would feel like to tumble down the cliff wall, pushed by the pouring water.  Hopefully, one would be unconscious before they hit the sharp rocks that could impale a body easily…she shuddered again.  Her father was right: she had too active an imagination.

With another sigh, the teenaged daughter of the Lord and Lady Adam Walters rose to her feet and brushed off the knees of her tan trousers.  Jenny smiled as she looked at them; what a scandal she had caused when she first put them on!  But no matter; at least she could walk without getting her skirt caught on something every few moments.   

Finally, she turned was about to return to the group when she heard a small crackling in the bush beside her.  Curious, Jenny stepped closer to the shrubbery.

"Jenny!"  Her mother's shrill voice rose over the sound of the waterfall.  "Lunch-time!"

"All right, Mother, I'm coming," Jenny shouted absently.  "Just as soon as I see what's under this bush," she added softly to herself, taking another careful step forward.  "Hello," she whispered quietly, "Is anyone in there?"

The bush rustled in response.

Encouraged, Jenny scooted closer.  "Are you hungry?  I'm sure that I could find something back at…"

Faster than she could react, a brown blur jumped out of the bush, snarling ferociously.  Jenny screamed, stumbling backwards as long fangs snapped mere inches in front of her face.  She reached behind her frantically, searching for something to grab on to, to balance her…

Her fingers clutched empty air.

She choked then, her heart stopping as she realized she was going over.  Desperate, her fingers searched again for something to hold on to, but they met only tufts of grass or the sharp surface of the cliff wall.  She tumbled over the edge, vaguely aware of a bundle of brown fur falling beside her, and she somehow found the breath to scream again, a heart-wrenching wailing that she couldn't seem to stop.

The horrified cries of her parents and friends faded away, and soon all she could hear was the roaring of the deadly falls.

With a loud crack, her head connected painfully with a protruding rock, and her last thought before she slipped into blackness was that at least she would be unconscious by the time she hit the jagged rocks below.

* * * *

_I'm dead.  I'm completely, totally, one-hundred-percent dead._

_Nonsense, another, more rational, part of her mind told her.  _If you were dead, you wouldn't hurt so much.__

_I'm in hell, then, Jenny retorted, ignoring the fact that she was talking to herself_.  Sarah Parkers was right; my trousers led me down the road of iniquity.  And now I'm in hell.  Besides, look how dark it is.  __

_It's only dark because you have your eyes shut.  Open your eyes, stupid._

With a groan, Jenny willed herself to open her eyes.  As they fluttered open, her groan increased as bright light flooded her head, increasing her already pounding headache.  Her aches and pains were momentarily forgotten, however, as the blurred shapes around her began to gain detail.

_WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I? her mind screamed.  Gone were the oak and pine trees of the peaceful forest; the torrential river was nowhere to be seen.  And for that matter, her tour group, her parents, were gone as well._

She was, as far as she could tell, in a jungle.  

A very wild looking jungle.

_Probably full of lions, she thought fearfully__.   And…and… other…things.  Her education had not included "types of animals to be found in wild and mysterious jungles."  With a burst of adrenaline, Jenny jumped to her feet, immediately regretting the rash decision as the world began to spin; she swayed as her vision went temporarily black.  Reaching out, she held onto a nearby trunk for support until she regained her balance._

"Alright," Jenny said softly to herself.  "We go slowly.  Let's just take stock of our situation."  Looking around her, she nodded carefully.  "I'm in a jungle.  I have no food, no water, no shelter, and there are probably wild animals watching my every move, just waiting to pounce…"  Her skin tingled and she shivered.  "Right.  No more stories for you, Lady Jennifer.  You're bad enough as is."  

With a deep breath, she let go of the tree and took a cautious step forward.  A twig snapped under her foot and she jumped at the sudden noise.  She laughed nervously.  "There you go again," Jenny scolded herself.  "Giving yourself a heart-attack won't help matters."  She took another uneasy step forward, then another, until she was soon walking at a brisk pace to…well, she didn't know where she was going, but she knew that if she just stood there, waiting, she would be reduced to a shaking, huddling mess within no time.  

She had been walking for what seemed like forever before she heard any signs of life.  The sound, however, was far from comforting.  A loud, snuffling noise, it came from her right.  It was soon followed by a loud stomp that seemed to shake the jungle floor.  Jenny eyed the thick jungle, frantically looking for a tree she could climb or a hole she could hide in; whatever was making that sound was big.

Too bad there were no holes around.  And she hadn't the slightest clue about how to climb a tree.  She was debating on whether to just hide behind a tree trunk or make a run for it when the biggest creature Jenny had every seen burst out of the foliage.  

Before her mind even had a chance to think, she screamed, her body taking over and she ran, ran faster than she ever thought she could run in her life.  Of course, she had never been chased by a wild beast before, but that was beside the point.  

As she stumbled between trees and over roots, she risked a glance over her shoulder and almost stopped in her tracks.  _A dinosaur, she thought in disbelief as she willed her feet to run faster.  __I'm being chased by a dinosaur._

A dinosaur that was steadily gaining on her.  Its pounding footsteps grew louder and when it roared – _with anticipation, _she thought wryly- her heart almost stopped beating.  _It's too close, _she thought frantically_, I can't run any faster; I hurt too much. _

But there was no way that she was just going to stand here and let the thing have an easy meal; she had a stubborn streak a mile wide, her father said.  It had to come in handy some time.  

_Besides, she thought, breathing heavily, __there were always miracles._


	2. A Rescue

_Disclaimer: Don't own anyone but Jenny.  Everyone else belongs to, um, someone else._

_A/N: This doesn't really go before or after any episode, and I don't think that there are any spoilers, unless you count Finn as a spoiler.   _

TLWROX:  Thank you sooooo much for reviewing!  This chapter is for you, because you're the only one who has reviewed!

* * * * 

A Rescue

"It's noon."

"Yes, Marguerite.  We know," Roxton said, lifting his hat to wipe his brow.  They all knew; the sun had been brutally beating down on them for awhile now.

"Well, don't you think that we should stop for lunch?  I'm hungry!"  _Not to mention tired, _she thought_, and sweaty, and bored... _"Challenger, just what was the point of this _fascinating excursion again?" _

Challenger stopped and looked her in surprise.  "Why, the flower, Marguerite!  Such a fascinating quality.  I'm quite sure that if I could find some way to extract the pulp and mix it in with the…"

Marguerite held up a hand, exasperated.  "I'm sorry I asked," she said, rolling her eyes.  Lifting her heavy hair away from her neck, she tried again.  "I'd still like to know how I ended up on this little expedition while the three children get to stay at home and play."

"Veronica is at the Zanga village," Challenger said, with the voice of one who had already explained this numerous times.  "Ned had some journals he wanted to finish, and Finn isn't allowed to leave the tree house until she completes that lesson I gave her yesterday."  

Roxton sighed.  "You know all of that, Marguerite; you're just looking for something else to complain about.  Let's go on," he said firmly, starting off again.

"Uh-uh," Marguerite said stubbornly, dropping down onto a large rock.  "I'm not going any further until I get some food.  And some water."

Roxton and Challenger exchanged rueful grins over her dark head before the handsome hunter shrugged off his pack and dropped it beside Marguerite; there was no dealing with the woman when she was like this. 

"All right, Marguerite, you win this time."  She smirked up at him, eyes sparkling as she began to unpack the food. 

However, they were hardly settled down when a shrill scream echoed throughout the forest.  Within seconds, the trio was on their feet, guns at the ready.

"It's coming from that direction," Roxton said, scanning the jungle intently.  "Let's go."

Marguerite gaped at him in astonishment.  "You aren't serious!" she shrilled.  "Why must you always go rushing off into danger?"

"Roxton's right," Challenger said, frowning at the heiress, "Somebody needs our help.  We can't just abandon them!"  He glanced at Roxton, who was already a few feet ahead of them.

Marguerite sighed.  "I suppose not.  Let's…"

Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Roxton came dashing back, one hand clamped on his hat to keep it firmly lodged on his head.  "Don't worry Marguerite," he said with a grin, cocking his rifle.  "We won't be rushing off anywhere; it seems the danger is coming to us."

Marguerite glanced at him curiously, but raised her own gun all the same.

Within seconds, a small figure burst out of the trees, long brown hair streaming out behind her as she ran.  Following close on her heels was a bellowing T-Rex.

* * * *

Jenny gasped for air as she burst into the clearing, mere feet between her and the snapping jaws of the dinosaur.  _I can't believe it hasn't eaten me yet, she thought absently, staring down at her feet rapidly moving feet.  _I can hardly breathe anymore._   _

It seemed like she had been running forever, and she was beginning to suspect that she had cut her head during her tumble down the waterfall, for she was feeling extremely woozy and incredibly detached from her situation.  In fact, the more she ran, the more it seemed like life was moving in slow motion.

Which is how she knew that she was going to fall: she saw the annoying little root before she tripped over it.  

Yes, she saw it alright.  Saw it, and told her foot to step over it.  Unfortunately, her body didn't seem to be taking commands from her anymore.  Perhaps it wanted to be put out of its misery.  So, she watched with interest as her foot caught under the root, and as the ground rose up slowly to meet her.

_I hope I taste nasty, she thought hazily as she lay sprawled on the ground, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she waited for the end.  But the sharp agony she expected as sharp teeth sank into her body never came.  Instead, the world seemed to explode, the loud, sporadic bursts causing her body to flinch from the sound._

_Fireworks, Jenny thought with a giggle.  _What fun…__

* * * *

Roxton watched with relief as the T-Rex crashed into the ground, tucking his guns away before dashing off towards the prone stranger, Marguerite and Challenger right behind him.  They had been close there; a few more seconds and the girl would have been lunch.

"So," Marguerite drawled as Challenger examined the girl, "What do we do with her now?"

Challenger frowned.  "We take her home, of course.  The child needs medical treatment immediately.  She seems to be covered in bruises and scrapes, and has a rather large gash on the back of her head; she may have a concussion."  

"Of course we're taking her home," Marguerite growled in resignation, throwing up her hands.  "We always take them home."

With a sideways glance at Marguerite, Roxton spoke.  "Can she be moved, Challenger?"

Challenger nodded, rising to his feet with a bit of help from Roxton.  "She'll be fine for the couple of hours it will take to get her home.  Do you think you can carry her all the way to the tree house?"

Nodding confidentially, Roxton scooped the girl into his arms.

Meanwhile, Marguerite had been examining the girl with great curiosity.  About sixteen or seventeen years of age, she was tall and slender.  Her tan face sported a full red mouth, a small nose, and a smattering of freckles, and was framed by what looked to be an impressive amount of thick brown hair.  But one thing really stood out in her mind.

"John!" she exclaimed excitedly.  "Look at her clothes!"

"What?" Roxton asked, eyeing the figure in his arms.  "They don't look any different than yours."  

Marguerite sighed in exasperation.  "Exactly!" she cried.  The men exchanged a confused glance.  "Challenger, you're the genius here.  If her clothes are the same style as mine, that probably means…"

A look of comprehension dawned on the red-headed man's face.  "That she is from our time!"

"Yes!"  Marguerite said, giving an uncharacteristic skip as she walked beside Roxton.

The hunter grinned down at her; it wasn't often that he had a chance to view this more exuberant side of Marguerite Krux.  "Well," he said, shifting his burden, "I guess that means that you won't complain anymore about us 'rushing of into danger.'"

Marguerite sniffed but smiled at him with shining eyes.  "We'll just have to see what she has to say when she wakes up."  

* * * *

A/N:  If you noticed, I put all of the characters in there, minus Summerlee, because I want them there.

If you read, be responsible: Review!  I usually return the favor.


	3. Waking Up

_Disclaimer:  Do I have to write one for every page?  *shrug*  Oh well; the only character that's mine, so far,  is Jenny.  Everyone else belongs to…the people who made them up.  I don't know who they are._

**A. Jacelyn and bEc:  Thank you so much for reviewing!  I love you guys…**

* * * *

Waking Up

Jenny moaned and stretched her arms over her head, eyes squeezed tightly shut.  _What a horrible dream,_ she thought sleepily.  _I'm never going to look at dinosaurs in quite the same way again.  With an ear-popping yawn, she slowly cracked open her eyes._

Only to stare straight into a pair of surprisingly close sky-blue orbs.  

Jenny shrieked and shot backwards until her back cracked into the headboard.  "Who are you?!" she cried accusingly.  "What are you doing in my room?"  The pretty, tow-headed owner of the blue eyes turned her head to glance around, and Jenny followed her gaze.  "For that matter," she cried in surprise, "where _is my room?!  Where am __I?"  _Please say the hospital, _she pleaded silently, though she seriously doubted it.  The black, skimpy costume the girl was wearing was not exactly the hospital standard; neither was the bedroom._

With a reassuring smile, the girl dashed to the door and stuck her head out.  "Challenger!" she bellowed, startling Jenny.  "Roxton!  Marguerite!  Ned!  She's _awake_!"  Returning to the bedside, she placed her hands on her hips and stared down at Jenny.  "I'm gonna let Challenger answer most of your questions," she said, "because he is better at that kinda thing than me, but for now…my name is Finn."

Jenny straightened and held out her hand.  "How do you do," she said formally - _doesn't hurt to be polite._  "My name is Jenny."  As Finn grasped her hand in a firm shake, a tall, red-headed man strode into the bedroom, closely followed by two handsome men and a dark-haired woman.

"Ah," said the first man, standing by Finn and peering down at Jenny with a kind smile.  "And how are you feeling?"  

Jenny hesitated, but the man reminded her too much of an affectionate grandfather for her to be frightened.  "Fine," she said finally.

"Hungry?" he asked.

Jenny's eyes lit up.  "Ravenous," she exclaimed.  She hadn't realized it before, but know that it had been mentioned, her stomach felt like it was about to cave in.

The man laughed.  "Wonderful!  It just happens to be lunch time, and our dear Miss Marguerite," here he shot a glance at the brunette, "has prepared some wonderful sandwiches."

With a grin, Jenny wrapped her arms around her folded knees.  "That's sounds splendid," she said, "But I think that I would like to know your names before I eat your food."

She couldn't help but laugh at the chagrined looks that appeared on everyone's faces.

* * * *

Jenny sat silently at the kitchen table, subtly examining the tree occupants seated around her as she ate.  According to them, they had rescued her from the T-Rex, doctored her wounds, and brought her to the tree house, where she had been laying unconscious for almost two days.  _Such an interesting band of people,_ she thought, watching and listening as her rescuers bantered and teased, _and yet, how thankful I am that I met up with them!  If I had to end up in the middle of a jungle, I don't think that I could find a better group of people…_

"Thank you," she said suddenly.

Conversation suddenly ceased and she found herself blushing as all eyes turned to her.  "I never thanked you for rescuing me," she stammered, "so…thank you."

The dark haired man- _Lord John Roxton, she reminded herself- raised an eyebrow; it seemed to be a habit of his.  "You're welcome," he drawled, giving her a crooked smile.  Jenny's blush deepened; she couldn't help it!  The man was just so blasted handsome…_too bad he's so much older,_ Jenny found herself thinking, and shot a quick glance over at the Lady Marguerite.  Jenny may have only been up for a very small amount of time, but one would have to be blind not to notice that Roxton was attracted to the beautiful women; she couldn't, however, discern how the lady felt in return.  _

A cough from the opposite side of the table drew her attention to Ned Malone.  "Jenny," the young man said, leaning forward eagerly, "where are you from?"

"London," Jenny said simply.  And blinked at the astonishing affect this seemed to have on everyone.  

"Ha!" Marguerite crowed happily, giving Roxton a triumphant look.  

"Marguerite," Challenger warned, "Don't get too excited."  He turned to Jenny as Marguerite rolled her eyes.  "Child, what _year_ is it?" 

_What year_ is it?  Now, there's an odd question for you.  _"1924," she said.  _Maybe they don't have calendars out here in the wild._  The excitement level in the room seemed to grow, but before anyone spoke, Challenger held up a hand for silence._

"Jenny," he said slowly, "how did you come to the plateau?"

"I fell over a cliff," she responded, somehow feeling that her response was incredibly important.  But it didn't seem to be the answer they wanted for the happy looks quickly faded into disappointed ones.     

"A cliff?" Challenger frowned.

Jenny nodded, staring at her food.  _Would they consider it impolite if she took a bite before answering?    Probably; they seemed to be just as civilized as her, despite the fact that they lived in a tree-house.  "Yes," she said finally, deciding to forgo the food until the end of the conversation.  "With a waterfall."  _

"But how can you fall down a waterfall and land in the middle the jungle?" Malone asked in confusion.  He looked at Challenger.  "Is that possible?"

"It's not any stranger than the way I arrived here," Finn broke in, speaking around a mouthful of food.  Jenny stared at her; maybe they _didn't mind if…_

"Finn, don't talk with your mouth full," Challenger said absently.  The blonde made a face but obediently swallowed before speaking again.  "I mean, this is the plateau we're talking about, guys!  Anything can happen."

"Yes, my dear," Challenger said with a soft smile.  "You are quite correct.  But perhaps if Jenny remembers…" All eyes turned back to Jenny, who had almost managed to get a bit of sandwich while the attention was on Finn.  With a sigh, she set it back on her plate.

"I hit my head on a rock on the way down," she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders.  "When I woke up, I was in the middle of the jungle."

"No cliffs or waterfalls in sight?" Roxton asked her.

Jenny shook her head.  "No.  I'm sorry."  Glancing around at the melancholy faces, she quickly popped a piece of fruit into her mouth, glad to get a break from the questioning while they sat in silence.  _You'd think they'd leave me alone to eat, _Jenny thought ruefully as she took a bite out of her third sandwich.  _After all, I haven't eaten since I got here!  But she slowed the food intake as her stomach finally began to be full, and she looked around thoughtfully.  There was something so familiar about these people!  Not really the people themselves, though, but their names.  She had heard them somewhere before…Yes, in the newspapers, at school, and her parents had talked about them once or twice…_

"I know who you are!" Jenny exclaimed abruptly.  "You are that expedition that left to find proof of dinosaurs, aren't you?"

The excitement returned to Challenger's face.  "Yes, yes we are!"

"So we are still talked about?  They haven't forgotten us?" Malone asked, just as excited as Challenger.

"What about rescue parties?" Roxton joined in.

Jenny hesitated; once again, she should have just kept her mouth shut.  These people looked depressed enough already.  "I'm afraid…"  She swallowed nervously.  "Everyone thinks that you're dead."  The silence was heavy as this obviously unwelcome news was digested.  "I am sorry," Jenny said, looking around.  "But it's been three years…some daring authors even wrote obituaries for all of you...you aren't in the news anymore…"  The frowns deepened.  

With a loud scrape, Malone pushed his chair back and stood up uncertainly.  "I'm…going to go over my journals," he said faintly before walking quickly out of the room.  

Jenny looked at Challenger anxiously.  "Is he alright?"  

Challenger ran a hand over his face.  "We're just a little bit down, my dear.  We had hoped…hoped that they would still be looking for us."

"I don't understand," Jenny frowned.  "If you want to get home so bad, why don't you just leave?   Why don't you just go back the way that you came?"

Marguerite snorted.  "If was that easy, we would have left this bloody place years ago, believe me." 

"Then what…"  But the loud creaking of a nearby machine interrupted.  Jenny's head turned toward the sound.  _An elevator, she realized, as a strikingly beautiful blonde stepped into the room._

Jenny blinked at the newcomer's outfit, her eyes sliding involuntarily over to Finn.  _What would my mother say if she say them!_ Jenny thought with an inward giggle.  

"Well!" said the blonde, smiling at Jenny, "Who do we have here?"  Challenger, who, along with Roxton, had stood upon her entrance, grinned and made the introductions.

"Miss Jennifer, meet Veronica Layton, owner of this magnificent tree-house.  Veronica, this is Jenny.  From London."

Veronica's eyebrow shot up.  "London, eh?"  Jenny nodded.  The leather clad girl glanced around the room before bringing her blue-eyed gaze back to Jenny.  She stuck out her hand.  "Well, Jenny…Welcome to the plateau."

* * * *

Later that night as Jenny slipped into the bed they had made up for her in the corner of the tree-house, the implications of their earlier conversation finally sunk in.  

She was stuck on the plateau.

For who knows how long.

_Everyone probably thinks that I died…she thought, a single tear sliding down her cheek.  __After all, they did watch me fall over the waterfalls.  And they won't find a body._

She attempted to keep the waterworks at bay by telling herself that at least she had a very nice group of people to watch over her, and other encouraging things, but despite her valiant efforts, her pillow was soon damp with tears.

Curled into a tight ball, Jenny silently cried herself to sleep.

* * * *

A/N:  Ooo…kinda sad ending, I know.  *sigh*  Oh well.  Thanks for reading!  

Oh yes, that date up there, '1924': I made that up.  I can't remember the time period that the explorers were on the plateau, so I made one up.  If anyone knows the actual time, feel free to tell me.


	4. Maybe We Should

Disclaimer:  I own only Jenny.  Everyone else belongs to the people that they are supposed to belong to, who shall remain nameless for now because I don't know their names.

A/N:  I don't know if some of you thought that the last chapter was the end, but it wasn't, obviously.

bEc:  Thanks so much!  I love your reviews; you seem to be my regular…

* * * * *

Maybe we should…

Despite the occasional bout of homesickness, Jenny managed to adapt to life on the plateau pretty easily.  To everyone's delight, it was discovered that Jenny was a wonderful cook, a superb seamstress, and a clever girl.    Of course, this discovering of her "talents" meant that Lady Jennifer, conditioned to having several maids at her disposal, did more work during her first month in the jungle than she had ever done in her life. 

And she was happy to do it, she really was.  For the six explorers cared for her, clothed her, fed her, taught her, protected her…

Jenny sighed and lifted her pruned hands out of the sink of dirty dishes.  _Yes, they protect me alright, _she thought plunging her hands back into the water; she groped about for a dish.  _They protect me by never letting me out of the house.  Picking up a plate, she scrubbed it vigorously.  __Well…out past the electric fence anyway.  _

Setting the final plate down on the counter, Jenny dried her hands and wandered to the living room.  Leaning against a beam, she smiled at the cozy picture presented by four of the other tree-house occupants.  On one side of the room sat Roxton, a look of content concentration upon his face as he cleaned and shined his impressive arsenal.  Close beside him reclined Marguerite, a small hardbound book upon her lap; _knowing her, it's probably about something way over my head, Jenny thought with a grin.  Malone was hunched over the desk, his pen flying across the pages of his beloved journal, while Veronica painted contentedly nearby.       _

It was a mood that Jenny was hesitant to interrupt, but she never was one for keeping silent when she had something to say.  So she pushed herself off of the wall and walked across the room.  

"Roxton?" she ventured timidly.

The blue-eyed hunter looked up, eyebrows raised.  "Yes Jenny?"

Jenny bit her lip, eyes flicking over to meet Marguerite's, who was watching her silently.  "I was thinking…" here she paused, doubtful about whether to continue.  Over and over she had been told about the dangers of the plateau, especially to one such as her; every request to be taken out on one of their excursions had been denied.  _It can't be that bad out there, Jenny though__t.  After all, they go out almost every day.  And it wouldn't even have to be far, I just want to…_

"Jenny?"  Roxton's amused voice startled her out of her thoughts.  

"Oh!"  Jenny blushed slightly as she heard a muffled snort of laughter from Malone.  _ Stop doing that! she berated herself.  _No wonder they won't let you out; you can't even pay attention to your own conversation.  __

They were all watching her now.  Jenny cleared her throat and continued, the flush fading out of her cheeks; she never stayed embarrassed for long.  "Roxton, I was thinking…"  She paused.  He nodded.  "Because of the, um, self-defense lessons that you and Veronica have been giving me, I was wondering if…" She swallowed – he was getting that stubborn look – and rushed on.  "…if I might be allowed to go along on your next excursion…Into the jungle."    

Roxton turned his attention back to his guns.  "I thought that we already went through this, Jenny.  The answer is no."

Jenny opened her mouth to protest, but before she got a word out, she found herself on the receiving end of Marguerite's infamous glares.  

With an enormous groan, Jenny stomped out of the room, emphasized by much swinging of the arms.  Immature, she knew, but hey, being the youngest member of the group had its advantages.

* * * *

"Sometimes," Marguerite remarked, sinking back into her chair, "I forget that she's seventeen."

Veronica laughed, looking up from her canvas.  "We might have been like that, Marguerite, given the chance.  She's had an easy life."  Her face turned thoughtful.  "Not at all like ours…"

Roxton set down his gun with a sigh.  "That's exactly why I don't want her leaving.  She'd have no idea what to do if we were attacked!"

"You've taught her some skills," Malone said, joining the conversation.  "You can always tell her to hide if we're in trouble."

Roxton gave the tow-headed reporter a wry look.  "Are you saying that I should let her come along?"  Malone shrugged, turning back to his journals; he knew better than to get into a…discussion with the older man.

"Maybe we should," Veronica said.  As Roxton glared at her, she laughed and stood up.  "I'm going out for awhile…" her voice trailed off, her eyes flickering over to Malone for a second before striding out of the room.  The ever-observant young men jumped to his feet, snatching his rifle before following Veronica into the elevator.

The room was silent for a moment, except for the sound of the descending elevator and the miscellaneous clinks and clanks from Challenger's lab, where he and Finn were working on another one of the man's experiments.  Roxton smiled with amusement as a hugely exaggerated sigh was heard from the kitchen.

"Maybe we should," Marguerite said suddenly, echoing Veronica's earlier words.  Roxton looked at her.

"Maybe we should what?" he asked, frowning.  She lifted a dark eyebrow.  "I'm not letting her," he said stubbornly, scowling at his guns.  "It's not safe out there, and you know it."

"I know it," Marguerite said.  She looked his hunched figure and smiled softly to herself.  "You're acting like an overprotective father, you do know that."

Roxton turned to face her, his handsome face earnest.  "She's a member of the family, as long as she's here, Marguerite.  And she may be here a long time, as long as we are.  I have grown fond of her; we all have."  Marguerite sniffed.  "Tell me that you don't care for her, Marguerite."

The dark-haired heiress looked down at her book.  It was true, she had, though she would never openly admit it to anyone, not even John.  They all cared for the girl.  Jenny was bright, with a droll tongue and a happy attitude that had brought her as close as a sister to the two younger female occupants of the house.  Malone teased her with all the affection of an annoying older brother; Challenger doted on her like a loving grandfather.  

And John….she looked at him.  He looked after Jenny like he looked after all of them; he was the protector.  No, that wasn't right, for he seemed to wish there was some bubble that he could place the teenager in.  And Marguerite knew what drove him.  Jenny had an innocence that all of them were hesitant to dissipate.

But the plateau was not a keeper of innocence.

"John," she said softly.  "We should take her out.  Not on a long or dangerous trip.  Maybe a few hikes; one of Challenger's little excursions.  We'll all go with her."  His stubborn look was fading.  "She'll be fine."

Roxton looked towards the kitchen thoughtfully.  "Maybe we should…"

Marguerite laughed and gave him a light shove.  "Then go tell her.  I'm not going to; you can stand her exuberant hugs more than I.  She'll more than likely knock me over."

Roxton stood and paused for a moment, looking down at her with a gentle smile.  "You had better be careful, Marguerite."  She stared at him curiously.  "One of these days the others will learn that you're not as hard as you look."  Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead before heading off to the kitchen.

Marguerite smiled at his retreating back until it was out of sight, then looked unseeing at the words of the book.  Her thoughts of a green-eyed hunter were briefly interrupted a few moments later by a happy shriek from the kitchen. 

* * * *

A/N:  Aww… I love Marguerite and Roxton.  And Malone and Veronica, but M/R is my fav.  

If you read, review!  And I shall love you forever….   


	5. Under Attack

Disclaimer: Nobody is mine except Jenny.  And that's all I'm going to say because I'm tired of writing these things.

A/N: No one was reading this, but I decided to post this next chapter anyway.

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Under Attack 

Jenny hummed happily to herself as she walked lightly through the dense jungle, only a couple feet from Lord Roxton, as was the agreement.  "It's a wonderful day," she remarked to no one in particular.

"Sure is," Finn agreed, popping up beside her.  "I love it when it's like this."  Jenny nodded.  "Vee says that it's going to rain soon."  Jenny scrunched her nose and tilted her head back to look at the blue, cloud-free, sky with confusion.

"Rain?"  Jenny asked skeptically.  

Finn shrugged.  "When the jungle girl says that it's going to rain, it's going to rain.  Vee's weird like that."  Finn raised her voice on the last comment and Jenny laughed as Veronica bounded up beside them, Malone close behind.

"Hey!" she said, punching Finn lightly on the arm, "I heard that."  

Finn grinned.  "I know."  With a wink at Veronica, Finn draped an arm over Malone's shoulders; he looked at her questioningly.  "So Malone…" she drawled, "it seems like the perfect day to read Veronica that poem you wrote, doesn't it?"

Malone stumbled and the three girls laughed at the look of slight alarm on his face.  "I don't know what you're talking about," he said stiffly, his face turning pink.  

"Sure ya do!" Finn said.  "Let me think…didn't it go something like:  Eyes as deep and blue as the ocean, mysterious and deep…Hair the color of cornsilk, soft as…as…" her voice trailed off as she and Jenny collapsed into giggles.  Ned, face red, kept his eyes on the ground and slowed his walk to drop behind his torturers.

"Girls!" Challenger called back, "Leave the boy alone.  And no more reading his journals, do you understand, Finn?"

"Yes, Challenger," Finn said, the unrepentant grin still on her face.

"You're so horrible!" Jenny laughed to her friend, catching her breath as they walked slowly along.  

"I know."  Her eyes danced.  "But it's fun, huh." 

---

Veronica dropped back with a smile of amusement at the two younger girls to walk alongside Malone.  His step was slow, his face still tinged red, and he barely acknowledged her beside him.  

"Ned," she said softly.  He mumbled something unintelligible in reply.  "Ned, it sounded like a beautiful poem.  Was it really about me?"

His head flew up and their eyes locked.  He nodded slowly.  "Yes.  But…it's not that good."  He felt a warm hand slip into his and looked down briefly, his heart beating wildly, before locking eyes with her once again.

"I'd like to hear the rest of it sometime," Veronica said softly.

---

"Well, she seems to be having fun," Roxton remarked, looking over his shoulder at Finn and Jenny.  

Marguerite chuckled.  "She's not the only one," she remarked, watching as Veronica and Malone walked with their heads close together, hands entwined.  

"What about you?"  

Marguerite turned to meet his gaze.  "What about me?"

"Are you having fun?"  His eyes sparkled and he leaned forward.

Before she could respond, Roxton's head was up, green eyes alert as they scanned the trees.  "Challenger!  Malone!" he shouted, indicating them to pull in.  

"What is it?" Marguerite asked urgently, her gun already up and ready, her head turning back and forth, as the small group closed together.

Roxton shook his head; he didn't know.  "Jenny, get behind me."  His voice brooked no argument; Jenny obeyed immediately, and the rest of the group formed a protective circle around her.  

For a moment, the jungle was void of sound.  Jenny was wishing fervently for a gun and that she didn't breath so loudly when a dozen frightening figures burst onto the path.

"Cannibals!"

 "Why are they attacking?"  Challenger shouted, shooting into the wave of oncoming savages.  "They've never come this close to the tree house before!"

"I don't know!" Veronica slashed out with her knives with deadly accuracy.  "Maybe they ran out of food."

Conversation ceased then, as the fighting grew fiercer.  And then Jenny realized just how helpless she really was, for as her group was overwhelmed with black and white bodies, she stood in the midst of them, unable to do anything, except watch.

She spotted a stout stick near her foot; swooping, she picked it up and held it tightly in both hands.  _There, I have a weapon._  

The circle broke.  With a shriek, she brought her branch down upon the head of an approaching savage with a satisfying crack, retreating to the safety of a large boulder as he stumbled to the ground.  And there she hid, angry that she couldn't be of more use, but knowing that she would only be a nuisance if she tried to help.  She hid, just as she had been told to do, listening as the gunshots echoed through the trees.

_Surely, she thought desperately, __there are no more!  Every shot meant a cannibal down; so many must have been killed, but still the fighting continued. _

Suddenly, she felt a strong hand clamped down on her shoulder, and she shrieked as the frightening face stared down into hers.  "Roxton!" Jenny screamed.  The cannibal jumped down beside her.  "Help! Ro…"

Her plea was cut off as the man brought his weapon down upon her head with brutal strength, and the world descended into darkness.        

* * * * *

Review!  Because I'm not going to post the next chapter until I get at least one review.  That's all I need folks!  One little review!  Even to tell me that you don't like it (though if you say that, please tell me why!).  


	6. Making an Escape

Disclaimer:  Only Jenny is mine.  Everyone else is somebody else's.

A/N:  Thank you so much for reviewing!  You are all so wonderful…

* * * * *

Making an Escape

Roxton fired off one last shot as the remaining cannibals retreated back to the forest and tucked his smoldering gun back into its holster.  Lifting his hat to wipe his brow, he began to check the rest of his group, surveying them for any injuries.  _Marguerite.As always she was his first thought, but she was fine, running her fingers through her tangled curls with an annoyed expression on her face.  _

_Jenny..._he frowned.  He had told her to hide if the situation got out of control, but surely she knew that the fight was over.  Where was she?  Whipping around, he scanned the area.  There was Finn, retrieving cross bolts; Veronica cleaning a cut on Malone's head; Challenger, standing and talking to himself…where was the bloody girl? 

"Jenny!" he shouted abruptly, interrupting Challenger's theory on why the cannibals would come out so much farther than they usually did.  Everyone looked around in alarm, suddenly realizing that they, too, didn't see the youngest member of their group.

"Jenny!"  He fell silent, listening.  There was no response.  With a curse, he turned to his friends.  "Spread out," he commanded.  Nodding silently, they went.

"Roxton," Veronica said urgently, moving to his side. 

"What?" Roxton asked absently, bending to look behind rocks.  Something wet landed on his cheek.  As he lifted his hand to wipe it away, another drop fell on his arm.  With dark eyes he looked at Veronica, comprehension dawning quickly.

"It's starting to rain," she said softly.  As if her words were a cue, the skies opened up and released a torrent of rain with incredible swiftness, a phenomenon that can only occur in a rainforest.

Growling angrily, Roxton dashed about the clearing, his sharp eyes scanning the forest floor, searching desperately for any sign of Jenny before the rain washed it away….but it was no use.  Within a matter of seconds, the ground had been reduced to a swampy marsh. 

There was no sign of her.

Marguerite's sorrowful eyes met his before he turned his back on them, unwilling to let them see the look of fear and anger he knew must be expressed on his face.   

* * * * 

Jenny awoke groggily to a pounding headache and an uncomfortably wet, unstable, world.  _What the…! she thought in puzzlement.  She spotted the black and white body underneath her however and groaned- how could she forget being clonked on the head by a grunting savage?  _

She closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to think of something - anything! - that could get her out of this situation.  But her mind went blank as she was carried roughly along over his shoulder.

_If Roxton, or Challenger, or even Malone were in this, they would figure out a brilliant plan,_ Jenny thought ruefully.  _Probably something involving explosives.___

A brief image of herself using magically produced explosives to blow up the native flashed through her head, and she almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

_New plan, Jenny!  Now think, what would Roxton do?_

_He would have shot them before they got anywhere near him, that's what he would do._

_Arrggh__!  Think, silly! Before you end up in someone's stewpot!_

Her overactive imagination took over reality once again as she imagined herself being lowered headfirst into a large pot of boiling water.  

Suddenly panicked, Jenny jerked, arching her back stiffly.  Her unexpected movement surprised the smelly cannibal and he lost his grip.  Seizing the opportunity she thrashed about, kicking and punching anything she could hit kick or punch.

Within seconds, Jenny and the cannibal came tumbling to the ground in a tangled heap.  Jenny gasped as the man's foot drove into her stomach.  The cannibal attempted to stand, his hand going to his waist.  _His knife…  Moving quickly, Jenny lunged, slamming into his legs and bringing him to the ground once again.  His foot snapped out and connected harshly with her head.  ___

Stunned, Jenny fell back as her head exploded with pain.  On his knees, the cannibal sneered as he drew his knife.  Jenny watched hazily as he lunged forward, aiming for her heart.  _Move! _her head screamed.  Sluggishly, she obeyed, falling to the side.  The knife missed.

But not completely.

Jenny screamed as the blade slashed across her upper arm. Almost instinctively, her body aching, she kicked high, aiming for the more sensitive area of his anatomy.  And apparently her aim was better than the cannibal's, for her foot connected.

Hard.

He fell to his knees and Jenny kicked again, this time knocking the knife out of his hand.  Her arm was throbbing and running with blood, her head was pounding, and she was _mad.  With her good arm, she reached out and grabbed the largest rock within reach, bringing the stone down upon his head with all the strength that she could muster._

It smashed into his temple and he collapsed lifelessly.  Jenny stared at his limp body, breathing heavily.  

_Now what?_  Standing awkwardly, she looked at her right arm, watching dully as the blood dripped off her fingers and onto the ground.  Her shirt sleeve was soaked completely through.  Bringing her good hand to her forehead, she struggled to think through the pain.  _What do I do?_

_Stop the bleeding, _she thought hazily; already she was feeling faint from the blood loss.  Carefully ignoring the cannibal's body – _Was he dead? – _she spent the next couple minutes struggling to rip her left sleeve out using only her left hand.  Finally, she accomplished getting her sleeve free from her shirt and paused, breathing heavily.  She had barely begun folding the material when it began to rain.  Pressing the cloth to her wound, Jenny stumbled to her feet.  

_Which way is home?_  Blinking as water ran down her face, Jenny stared at the trees helplessly.  She had no idea.  _We came from…that way, Jenny thought uncertainly, looking to her left.  __Or, was it the other way?_

Blinded by the rain and dizzy from pain, Jenny stifled a sob and staggered off through the jungle.

* * * * *

A/N:  Sorry if the whole fighting scene thing was bad; I'm not very good at them.  

And the cannibals are the black and white people, right?  I couldn't really remember…

Anyway, thank you for reading!  If you want more, I'm not greedy: I only need one review!


	7. Déjà vu

Disclaimer: Only Jenny is mine!  Oh, yes, and Big Man.  He's mine too.  Everyone else…isn't.

A/N:  Thank you so much for still reading!  I love you all!

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Déjà vu

_I hate rain._

Yanking her foot out a muddy bog yet again, Jenny frowned as she watched the imprint from her shoe fill up almost instantly with mud.  Pushing her wet and incredibly sodden hair out of her face, she started forward.

Only to find her foot once again ensconced in mud.  

Loosing her balance, Jenny's good arm wind-milled, fighting to keep herself upright.  _I_ hate _mud._  Breathing heavily, she pulled her foot out –again- and resumed her rain-blinded stumbling.  _Hours, _she thought angrily, _hours upon hours upon hours I've been walking!  She attempted to push a tree branch out of her way, only her arm didn't respond to her command and she ended up running into the bough when her legs forgot to stop walking._

_Stupid arm._Jenny scowled down at the offending appendage.  The wound had finally stopped bleeding a few hours ago, which she supposed was good, but it still looked horrible.  It was deeper than any wound she had ever seen, and the skin around it had turned odd colors.        

At least the sharp, stabbing pain had been reduced to a dull throb.  _Yes, let's look at the bright side, she thought scathingly__.  Soon, my arm will fall off due to infection so I won't have to worry about it hurting any more.  And then my body will just wear out and collapse into oblivion, so I won't feel a thing when the cannibals come and eat my body!_

Jenny paused, blinking.  Something was…off.  It took her clouded brain a few moments to figure it out.   

The rain had stopped.

Jenny laughed, her voice tinged with hysteria.  Finally!  Since the time that she had left the cannibal's body on the jungle floor, the maddening rain had fell unceasingly, but it had finally come to an end.

Of course, she still had no idea where she was.

Jenny looked dully at the trees.  _And I go left, _she thought wearily.  Straightening her shoulders, she squelched off through the dreadful mud.

* * * * *

After an undeterminable amount of hours, Jenny lifted her eyes from the ground and stopped walking, looking around drearily.  There were people nearby; she could hear voices.

Jenny spun about warily, straining to determine which direction the sounds were coming from.  They weren't being very loud, though, and Jenny didn't have much practice with this sort of thing, so it took her a few minutes.

Finally, she edged to her left.  The voices were soon loud enough that Jenny was able to hear their conversation.  _But not understand, Jenny thought with an inward sigh as she realized that they were speaking a strange language.  Crouched quietly behind a thick bush, she examined her new find._

There were five of them, big brawny men with shoulder length blonde or brown hair and drab, shapeless clothing.  They were circled around a small fire, talking around mouthfuls of some kind of meat; Jenny's mouth watered at the sight.  After a brief argument with herself, (consisting mostly of comments like: _Look, they have food! _and _Stupid!_  _They're greasy men; I don't think that you'll like their help._  And then the usual rejoinder of, _Yes, but they have food! ) Jenny slowly started backing away._

She had only moved about three feet when she felt a heavy hand land on her shoulder.  Jenny froze as a hoarse voice breathed something unintelligible into her ear.  Eyes wide, Jenny turned and squeaked_ with fear._

_Whoa…_Standing behind her was the biggest man she had ever seen.

"Er…hello."  She waved weakly. 

A frightening smile spread across his wide face, and he chuckled.  Moving quicker than Jenny would have given him credit for, Big Man scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder.  Jenny gasped as her wounded arm slammed into his shoulder  

"Put me down!" she screamed, hitting the Big Man's heavily muscled back as hard as she could.  However, this apparently had no affect on the him, for he ignored her, shouted something to his friends, and strode into the campsite.

Finally determining that the only thing she was gaining was a bruised fist, Jenny stopped her attack and tried to figure out what was going on.  After a few minutes of frustrating listening, however, Jenny gave up on that two.  So she hung there over Big Man's shoulder, completely secure in his iron grip, too tired and weak to even struggle.

_Yes, and here you are again, _Jenny thought wearily.  _If you ate more, maybe people would stop flinging you over their shoulders.  Oh, I would give anything for Roxton, or Marguerite, or Veronica, or Challenger, or Finn, or Mal…_

She was jolted out of her thoughts; apparently they were on the move.  _I hate my life, Jenny thought despondently as her head knocked against Big Man's back.  She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling lightheaded.  _

_At least they aren't going to eat me…_Jenny thought drowsily as her world, for the second time in only days, spun into darkness. 

* * * * * 

A/N: Hey, that was short, I know, but….I'm updating, right?!

Thanks for reading.  Be responsible, review!


	8. Enter Kiros, Chief of the Lantos

Disclaimer:  Aden is mine.  Jenny is mine.  Kiros is mine.  Big mine is mine.  Everyone isn't, k?

A/N:  No one reviewed the last chapter, but I decided to update anyway…

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Enter Kiros, Chief of the Lantos

The rain had finally stopped, but according to Veronica, it would soon begin again.  They took the opportunity to look for Jenny, but after almost two days with no sign of her, they all returned to the tree house to regroup.  Well, almost all of them.

"He needs to stop," Veronica said softly to Marguerite, as they stood together on the balcony.  Marguerite was staring out into the dark forest.  Where Roxton was, still searching.

The dark heiress nodded.  "I asked him, but…he won't."  She paused, biting her lip.  She had been paired with Roxton during their search, and she had hardly ever seen him worse.  John was driven, hardly sleeping, or speaking, a feeling of guilt weighing heavy on him.  "He thinks that this is all his fault; that he's failed somehow.  And she was so young…"  Marguerite turned her gaze from the jungle to Veronica.  "You don't think that she is alive do you?  I mean, she was probably carted off by a cannibal for goodness sakes."

Veronica shook her head.  "I don't know.  There isn't much chance of her being safe, is there?"  They both looked out into the darkness.  "But then….stranger things have happened on the plateau."

* * * * * 

A sharp slap startled her into consciousness.  Jenny groaned, but didn't open her eyes.  A second slap was administered to her other cheek, sending an explosion of pain through her already pounding head.  She whimpered slightly, peeling her eyes open to blearily view a big blob of a man leaning over her; he was the same one who had caught her in the bushes.

"Opsta!"  The man ordered upon seeing her awake.  His scowling face darkened when Jenny stared up at him, blinking as the rain splashed onto her face.  "Opsta,  Heks!"  

_What?  _Jenny shook her head, slowly; she had no idea what he was saying.  With a growl, the man straightened and called something over his shoulder before folding his arms and turning to glare down at her.  Studiously ignoring him, Jenny took a moment to check her self over and sighed; she wasn't in very good shape.  Beside an atrocious headache and stinging cheeks, the cut on her arm looked worse than ever.  The skin around the wound was mottled purple and red and various other colors that didn't look too healthy.  _It's probably infected, _Jenny thought briefly.  _But at least it isn't bleeding._  Her clothing was in a horrible state as well, full of tears and mud and…

"Well!"  

Jenny's eyes widened and her head jerked up; someone was speaking English.  Peering around the Big Man, Jenny looked for the speaker. 

"You're awake!"  

Nodding carefully, Jenny examined the new stranger as he strode towards her.  He was tall, and well muscled, with shoulder length brown hair and a beaked nose.  He leaned in and Jenny shivered as his eyes met hers; there was something about those amber orbs that set her on edge.  There was an air of power about him, and Jenny forced herself to stop from cringing as he crouched in front of her.  

"Do you speak?"  He didn't wait for answer.  "Of course you can!  I heard you."  Eyes glinting, he stared down at her.  "Say something," he growled.  

Finally, Jenny nodded.  "Yes, I speak."

"Kan u mij begrijpen?" he asked, his face intent.  

Jenny blinked.  "I don't…"  A wicked grin on his face, the man suddenly leapt to his feet, and Jenny shrieked as he swooped down and grabbed her bad arm.  Yanking her up, the man pulled her close.

"My name is Kiros," he whispered hoarsely, his breath rank, his eyes wild.  Jenny could feel her heart pounding heavily, and she bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry as his grip upon her arm tightened.  "And you have come to save me from my people."

* * * * *

"Where is she?!"  Aden yelled, his deep voice overpowering the every-day sounds of the tiny village.  He strode purposefully through the mud, ignoring the people who had to dive out of his path.  

His father turned, and snarled when he saw his son.  "Why must you make life so difficult!" he hissed.  The two men stood barely a foot apart, identical looks of anger on their similar faces.  

"Who is she?"  Aden hated how much he looked like his father.  

"And why do you care?"  His voice was suddenly petulant.

"What you are doing is wrong.  We must let her go!"  _Why must he be like this!  _Aden thought, half despairingly.  _He is growing worse, crazier, everyday…_

"You _dare_ go against my word!" the man roared, taking a menacing step forward.  Aden stiffened, resisting the urge to step back, away from his father's wild eyes and rage-contorted face.

"This is wrong, Father!"  _How often it came to this between them: a shouting match._  "Blaming our problems on someone else!"

His father snarled.  "Would you rather it be one of our own people?" he growled between clenched teeth.  "Their children are dying!  They are silly enough to believe that this is someone's fault!  And with the blame laid on someone else, they will no longer point to me, their leader!"

"Surely she has family!  Friends!"  There wasn't even a point in arguing that they needed to blame no one; the blood-thirsty town wanted a scapegoat.  His father was right: the people would willingly direct their anger to a complete stranger.  "Someone will come after her.  Father, if you don't let her go, I'll…"  Aden stopped, breathing heavily.  It was the wrong thing to say.  No one threatened Kiros, Chief of the Lantos.

His father swelled with anger.  "You'll what?"  His voice was low, and deadly.  "I've had enough of your insubordination, boy."  Kiros turned, and signaled someone.  Eye contact broken, Aden suddenly realized how quiet the tiny village had become.  The people appropriately hid during these father / son arguments; their Chief's anger was likely to be spilled out onto whoever was around.

_And yet, not one of them would ever think of going against him, for  they are as cruel as he is,_ he thought bitterly. 

His thoughts were roughly broken by the presence of two burly guards.  _He wouldn't…_The men clamped onto his arms with bruising grips.  "Father," he said hoarsely.  Kiros stiffened, then turned.  Two steps, and he was across the square, his hand sweeping wide to slap his son full in the face as he stood before him.  

"You have no claim to me," Kiros snarled, moving in so they were almost nose to nose.  Aden could feel his hot breath on his face.    "A father deserves respect from his son;  obedience!  I've taught you everything, and how do you repay me?"  He was roaring by now, amber eyes flashing wildly.  "By taking every opportunity to go against my orders!  Trying to stir the people against me!  Spreading rumors that I'm…mad!"

His breathing was heavy, coming in quick gasps.  It was the only sound besides the soft patter of raindrops.

"Two dozen lashes," Kiros said abruptly, his eyes glinting as he spoke to the guards.  "Then lock him up."   With a rough jerk, Aden was pulled backwards through the mud to the tall pole mounted in the center of the village.  Through the rain, he watched dully as his father strode out of the clearing without a second glance back at his son.

~ * ~ * ~ 

A/N: And that's it for this chapter!  If you read, please review!  Questions, comments, criticism…anything!  


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